MADISON, Ill. – Denny Hamlin is perfect for the 2025 Playoffs – at least when it comes to qualifying.
With a lap at 139.190 mph (32.330 seconds) on Saturday at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway, Hamlin claimed the pole position for the second time in two Playoff races and will lead the field to green in Sunday’s Enjoy Illinois 300 (3 p.m. ET on USA, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Hamlin’s No.19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was 0.021 seconds faster than the No. 5 Chevrolet of Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson (139.099 mph), the only Playoff driver to participate in a Goodyear tire test at the 1.25-mile track in June.
The Busch Light Pole Award was Hamlin’s first at Gateway – and the first for Toyota – his third of the season and the 46th of his career, tying him with NASCAR Hall of Famer Junior Johnson for 11th all-time.
Coincidentally, Hamlin is also 11th on the career victory list with 58 but has converted only six of his pole-position starts into wins.
Hamlin enters the second race of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs second in the standings behind Darlington winner Chase Briscoe, who qualified third on Saturday at 138.902 mph. After a seventh-place finish from the pole at the Lady in Black, Hamlin is 43 points above the current elimination line for the Round of 12.
“We were able to, very similarly to last week, make some great adjustments from where we were in practice,” Hamlin said. “And again, there is so much that is different from practice to qualifying when you’re going for one lap.
“Air pressures at a track like this are dramatically different, certainly, the intensity from which I drive is a lot different in practice than qualifying. They gave me all of the adjustments that I needed to have a really good handling car there, and we were able to capitalize on it.”
Ross Chastain (138.855 mph) was fourth in time trials in the No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet. Ryan Blaney, who won at Iowa on the same tire combination in use this weekend at Gateway, qualified fifth at 138.752 mph in the fastest Ford.
With Playoff drivers accounting for the top nine starting positions, William Byron qualified sixth, followed by Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell and Austin Cindric. Tenth-place Zane Smith was the fastest non-Playoff driver in the No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford.
Josh Berry, 19 points below the cut line after finishing last at Darlington, will start 12th, followed by 2022 Gateway winner Joey Logano, who comes to the second Playoff race three points below the elimination line.
Other Playoff drivers qualified as follows: Bubba Wallace 14th, Austin Dillon 15th, Shane van Gisbergen 18th, Chase Elliott 19th and Alex Bowman 25th.
NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying – Enjoy Illinois 300
Madison, Illinois
Saturday, September 6, 2025
1. (11) Denny Hamlin (P) @, Toyota, 139.190 mph.
2. (5) Kyle Larson (P) @, Chevrolet, 139.099 mph.
3. (19) Chase Briscoe (P) @, Toyota, 138.902 mph.
4. (1) Ross Chastain (P) @, Chevrolet, 138.855 mph.
5. (12) Ryan Blaney (P) @, Ford, 138.752 mph.
6. (24) William Byron (P) @, Chevrolet, 138.602 mph.
7. (45) Tyler Reddick (P) @, Toyota, 138.457 mph.
8. (20) Christopher Bell (P) @, Toyota, 138.410 mph.
9. (2) Austin Cindric (P) @, Ford, 138.160 mph.
10. (38) Zane Smith, Ford, 137.724 mph.
11. (17) Chris Buescher, Ford, 137.661 mph.
12. (21) Josh Berry (P) @, Ford, 137.623 mph.
13. (22) Joey Logano (P) @, Ford, 137.535 mph.
14. (23) Bubba Wallace (P) @, Toyota, 137.451 mph.
15. (3) Austin Dillon (P) @, Chevrolet, 137.375 mph.
16. (43) Erik Jones, Toyota, 137.363 mph.
17. (16) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 137.346 mph.
18. (88) Shane Van Gisbergen # (P) @, Chevrolet, 137.342 mph.
19. (9) Chase Elliott (P) @, Chevrolet, 137.199 mph.
20. (42) John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota, 136.978 mph.
21. (54) Ty Gibbs, Toyota, 136.824 mph.
22. (8) Kyle Busch, Chevrolet, 136.562 mph.
23. (6) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 136.542 mph.
24. (4) Noah Gragson, Ford, 136.393 mph.
25. (48) Alex Bowman (P) @, Chevrolet, 136.343 mph.
26. (99) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 136.207 mph.
27. (77) Carson Hocevar, Chevrolet, 135.816 mph.
28. (71) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, 135.554 mph.
29. (41) Cole Custer, Ford, 135.538 mph.
30. (34) Todd Gilliland, Ford, 135.420 mph.
31. (7) Justin Haley, Chevrolet, 135.330 mph.
32. (60) Ryan Preece, Ford, 135.208 mph.
33. (35) Riley Herbst #, Toyota, 134.662 mph.
34. (47) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 134.176 mph.
35. (10) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 133.789 mph.
36. (51) Cody Ware, Ford, 133.730 mph.
–By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service. Special to Field Level Media
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